The Untold Tales
by Striders-Girl89
Summary: Harry Potter told through the eyes of Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy and an OC. There will be major spoilers about the final chapters in The Deathly Hallows.
1. CH1: A Home in Ruins

**Summary:**** Imagine that Harry Potter hadn't been an only child, that he had a twin sister that hardly anyone knew about. What happens when Harry goes to his aunt and uncle's to live while his sister is adopted by a Scottish Auror? And what happens when Lord Voldemort finds out that the Potters' Secret Keeper left out the fact that they also had a daughter?**

**Seen through the eyes of Jessica Potter, Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy.**

**There will be spoliers that have to do with the final book/film Deathly Hallows and parts that will give away the plot to the final book.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, I just love it quite a lot and I am just trying to cope with the fact that it is now all over... **

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><p><em><strong>Author's note<strong>_:**_ Okay, so I thought I would publish the beginning of my Harry Potter fanfic to get some general feedback on it. Basically I started writing all this when the books first came out and I was about nine at the time, so as you can imagine the general story has changed a fair bit over the years, thank God! Anyway, so yeah, Let me know what you think, and we can go from there, because I am not really sure how this is going to go, your feedback will help me decide! I'm not sure if this idea has been done before either..._**

**_Oh, and there contains a scene from the finale book, so if you haven't read it/seen the film, don't say you haven't been warned._**

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><p><em>Chapter One: A Home in Ruins<em>

Albus Dumbledore stood in a disbelieving silence, looking at the rubble that, before that night, use to be quite a charming, quaint little house. As people everywhere rushed around him, he stayed very still, deep in an almost unbreakable chain of thought. He had done the right thing in leaving baby Harry with his muggle relatives, who, according to Minerva McGonagall, were 'the worst kind imaginable.' Dumbledore shook his head. _That was the best place for him_, he thought to himself. Now that his parents and his twin sister were gone, Dumbledore didn't want Harry growing up with the constant reminder of what had happened, he didn't want people to encourage the boy to seek revenge. _No, he was far better off away from it all_.

He gave a heavy sigh. No one was meant to know of Harry and his sister Jessica, but for a few close friends, but now the whole wizarding world knew Harry's name. They all praised him, Dumbledore had heard them himself, everyone was celebrating Lord Voldemort's downfall, and they all thought that Harry Potter would become one of the greatest wizards in the world. _So much pressure_, Dumbledore thought sadly.

"Albus," a familiar voice said, bringing the old wizard out of his deep thoughts.

Dumbledore looked up to see another wizard limping towards him on his wooden leg, his false glass eye swivelling around and round in its socket.

"Ah, Alastor," Dumbledore said quietly, "Have you found them yet, Hagrid didn't say?"

Alastor Moody nodded. "We found them." He said quietly, glancing back towards the house, where a sheet had been placed over two bodies on the ground. "Lily must have been upstairs with the boy, James downstairs trying to hold Voldemort off. It looks like Lily had been moved… Could have been Hagrid I suppose…"

Dumbledore nodded, knowing that it was possible that Hagrid could have moved her, but he assumed that it had not been him, that it had been someone else to move Lily. He also knew that Moody was thinking of somebody else too, Voldemort in fact, but Dumbledore knew that he didn't want think for a moment that Voldemort still survived after such terrible events. Dumbledore felt sure that the person who had moved her body would come around to see him before the night's end.

"And what of the little girl?" asked Dumbledore softly, not wanting his friend to be worrying about the possibility of the Dark Lord remaining alive.

"We haven't found her yet," Moody said heavily, "And I don't know if we will to be honest with you…"

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "How are Sirius and Remus?"

"They are both shaken, as you'd expect." He answered. "Especially Black, he left half-an-hour ago, but Lupin stayed here… said he won't leave until we find the girl."

"Where did Sirius go?" Dumbledore pressed.

"Dunno," Moody admitted, "but he sure was angry."

Dumbledore sighed again, this time feeling worry creep in and mix itself in with all the other emotions that were in his troubled heart. He had a fair inkling where Sirius Black would be headed; he just hoped that he was wrong.

He moved slowly towards a pale and upset Remus Lupin, who was seated on the ground beside the bodies of two of his best friends. He rose to his feet once he saw that Dumbledore was approaching him.

"Dumbledore," Lupin said once Dumbledore was closer to him. "Mad-Eye told me that you've taken Harry somewhere safe?"

"Yes, Remus," Dumbledore said gently. "Harry has gone to live with Lily's sister and her husband. I think that is where he will be safest."

"Safest from what?" asked Lupin. "Voldemort is dead."

"Just safe," Dumbledore said simply. "Has Peter been informed?"

"We haven't been able to get hold of him yet," Lupin explained. "That is where Sirius has gone, to try and find him. I tried to get him to wait until we found Jess, but you know him – he can never sit still…"

"Dumbledore," said another wizard walking towards them, his brown robes askew, his sandy-blond hair and his face and hands covered in dirt from crawling around in amongst the rubble.

"Ah, Theodore," Dumbledore said, looking to the kind-faced man. "Have you found anything?"

"No Albus, nothing." The wizard said with a Scottish accent, sounding tired. "I am so sorry, Remus." He added to Lupin, who had turned away to hide his silent tears.

"Wood," Moody yelled, "Have you searched over here yet?" he asked his fellow Auror.

Wood turned to face his head Auror, finding that he was standing on top of the collapsed end of the two story house.

"Not thoroughly, no." Wood answered. "I just gave it a quick once over. Look Mad-Eye, I was think that we should send the rest of the Aurors home; I can manage looking through the rest of the house. I think everyone wants to be at home with their families, especially those who knew the Potters well."

"Yes, I agree with Theodore." Dumbledore nodded.

"I'll go and tell the others to head off," Moody said before adding gruffly, "But I'm not going anywhere."

"I didn't think you would Alastor," Dumbledore said gently as Moody limped away.

Once Moody had told all the Aurors and the local witches and wizards of Godric's Hollow that they should leave, Dumbledore, Lupin, Moody and Wood began searching through the stone and the various bits of furniture and debris in what seemed to be a useless attempt to find the little girl's body. All of them had stopped hoping to find her alive; if she had of been with Harry, the blast from Voldemort's curse would have killed her, if she had of been in her own bedroom across the hall from Harry's she would have been killed because that part of the house collapsed and if she had of been seen by Voldemort, he probably would have killed her anyway…

"Remus," Wood suddenly asked. "Did the Potter's have a cat?"

"No, James never liked cats…" Lupin answered dully before adding somewhat nervously, "why?"

"Nothing I thought I just heard –"

"You thought you heard what?" Lupin asked urgently.

"SHHH!" hissed Moody suddenly, "I can hear something…"

Everyone strained their ears, struggling to hear anything in the cold October wind, but something that did sound a bit like a cat could be heard somewhere beneath the thick layers of stone and dust.

"Where's it coming from?" Moody asked while searching through the rubble with his magical eye.

"Over there!" Lupin cried, pointing in front of him.

Moody squinted before yelling, "She's under that pile of stone, protected by a red arm chair!"

The four of them rushed over to the spot that Moody had indicated and they all levitated bits of rubble away before finally lifting the red arm chair to reveal a distraught child sobbing.

Dumbledore wasted no time in picking her up, and as soon as she was safely wrapped in his warm arms she stopped crying. She looked up to the old wizard through her wide, bright blue eyes and reached out with her tiny little hands to tug playfully on his long, silver beard.

They all watched Jessica Potter in a tear-filled silence. All of them had expected to find her little body cold and lifeless, yet here she was, making herself giggle by tugging on Dumbledore's beard, oblivious to what had happened to her parents, oblivious to what evil had been in her house mere hours ago.

"How did she survive?" Wood asked quietly. "Surely the fall of the house should have killed her, like her father?"

"James's death was not a result of the house falling on him, Theodore," Dumbledore said quietly as he handed Jessica to Lupin, who sunk to the ground crying silently as he cradled her. "He was, like Lily, murdered by Lord Voldemort –"a small shudder came from Wood at the mention of Voldemort's name – "he must have upturned the armchair in an attempt to hide her from Voldemort, which seems to have worked quite efficiently."

"Do you think he knew about her too?" Wood asked.

"Very few people knew about either of them before tonight," Dumbledore answered quietly, as if to himself. He had been pondering that very same question.

"We were only here last week," Lupin cried as Jessica held onto one of his fingers, her eyes slowly beginning to close. "We were watching the twins ride around the lounge room on their little brooms that Sirius had gotten them for their birthday in July… How did this happen? How did he find out where they lived?"

"That's a good question," Wood agreed, looking to Dumbledore. "I thought that only a select few in the Ministry and in your Order of the Phoenix who actually knew their whereabouts. I mean, I didn't even know and I'm second-in-command at the Aurors office!"

"It wasn't because you weren't trusted by James and Lily, Theodore," Dumbledore started, "nor was it because you are not in the Order, it was just that I thought that it were best for their protection –"

"- the less people who knew the better," finished Wood, nodding. "I know, I understand, but didn't they have a secret keeper?"

"He would have never betrayed them to Voldemort!" Lupin snapped angrily and Jessica woke with a start and began to cry again. "Shh," Lupin cooed soothingly and Jessica fell back asleep.

"Remus, that isn't what I meant," Wood said apologetically. "That's why I was wondering how their location was discovered; Sirius Black and James Potter were almost inseparable and together made quite the troublesome pair if my time as Head Boy serves me correctly. I know he would never betray them."

Lupin nodded, mumbling "sorry" for jumping to the wrong conclusion, still rocking Jessica softly.

"Where are you going to take her?" Lupin asked Dumbledore after a long pause. "Are you going to take her to Lily's sisters too?"

"No," Dumbledore said after a thoughtful pause. "I think they need to be separated to keep them both safe. It would seem that people still have no idea about her and if that is the case, maybe we should keep it like that."

Lupin laughed hollowly. "I would offer to take her, but that would be stupid, considering my _little _problem."

Dumbledore patted him gently on the shoulder before another long, thoughtful silence followed.

"I will take her," Wood said slowly.

Everyone looked to him.

"You know the risks, Theodore," Dumbledore said slowly, looking over the top of his half-moon spectacles. "If Voldemort's followers ever find out who she is, who she is related to, they may wish to seek some kind of revenge. You and your wife and son could be at great risk."

"I know," Wood said honestly, "and I accept this in order to protect her."

"What about Black?" Moody asked.

Lupin gave a small laugh. "Sirius has a hard enough time looking after himself let alone a child as well. Although, I can't help but think that a bit of extra responsibility might be good for him, he is after all very fond of them both."

"I think Sirius will have enough on his mind at the moment without having to worry and care for a child as well. Maybe, in the future, both Harry and Jessica may be able to live with him." Dumbledore pondered quietly. "Will Susan be okay with this Theodore?"

Wood nodded. "Sue has been house bound for several months due to illness, so our hopes for another child have been put on hold. But perhaps this timing may work to our advantage. Sue will be more than happy to take her in and raise her as our own."

"Good," Dumbledore said softly. "I will come and put my own protective enchantments on your home for extra protection, just in case." He paused, watching Jessica sleep soundly in Lupin's arms. He wished he could have left her with him. "When she is older, I will be the one to tell her the truth. Until that day, however, let her grow up thinking that she is your daughter that will lower the chances of people finding out who she really is."

Wood nodded and everyone fell into silence again as Lupin stood slowly and gently (with the slightest hint of reluctance) handed Jessica to Wood.

"Look after her," he said emotionally, his eyes on her tiny little face.

"You have my word," Wood said honestly and Lupin took one last look at Jessica before turning away. "You are always welcome, Remus,"

Lupin glanced back to him, tears in his eyes.

"To come and visit her, you and Black." Wood finished, rocking the small child in his arms slightly. An old habit.

"Thank you," Lupin managed to say before he took a few steps away and Disapparated from his friends destroyed home.

"Come, we must get the two of you home, Theodore." Dumbledore said sadly, not wanting to think how much pain Lupin was in right now, motioning Wood and Moody forward to do the same as Lupin.

As Wood and Moody disappeared, Dumbledore flicked his wand and the two lifeless bodies disappeared from under the sheet, before he too, departed Godric's Hollow.

- O -

Dumbledore sunk wearily into the tall-backed chair behind his desk in his study at Hogwarts, his home; all the portraits on the high walls of Hogwarts' previous Headmasters and Headmistresses all asked the same question.

"Is he gone?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said heavily and all the portraits gasped and soon began vanishing from their frames. It was then that Dumbledore covered his face with his hands, the first time he had let himself show his true emotions all night.

Yes, he had let tears fall from his bright blue eyes, but that was nothing – _nothing _– to what he really felt on the inside. Yet another family destroyed because of Lord Voldemort, a family that he had come to care about very much; James and Lily killed to save their young children from an inexact prophecy that could have meant, until that night, another boy…

His door burst open and Dumbledore looked up from his old hands, his phoenix squawking in alarm as a distraught looking Severus Snape strode in, his face pale and his eyes shining with tears.

"I thought… you were… going to keep her s-safe!" he said, his breath coming in great, devastated gasps.

"She and James put their faith in the wrong person," Dumbledore said slowly having recovered now from his earlier moment of weakness. "Rather like you, Severus. Weren't you hoping that Lord Voldemort would spare her?"

Snape leant on the wall beside the three small steps that lead up to the level that Dumbledore sat on, his breathing sharp as he tried to fight back tears unsuccessfully. The woman he had loved practically his whole life was dead and the man whom he had devoted his life to was to blame, although the fault also was with him. If he hadn't of told Voldemort about that prophecy, Lily would still be alive.

"The boy survived," Snape heard Dumbledore say, but he hardly cared. Lily was gone.

"Her son lives," Dumbledore continued. "He has her eyes, precisely her eyes. You remember the shape and colour of Lily Evans' eyes, I am sure?"

"DON'T!" yelled Snape furiously; he couldn't bear him talking about her, he couldn't bear the thought of her being gone. "Gone… dead…"

"Is this remorse, Severus?"

"I wish…" Snape managed to whisper. "I wish _I_ were dead…"

"And what use would that be to anyone?" Dumbledore snapped harshly. "If you loved Lily Evans, if you _truly_ loved her, then your way forward is clear."

Snape slid down the stone wall, letting his heartbreak feed his tears. It took a very long time for what Dumbledore had said to him to work its way through Snape's mind and finally sink in and when it finally did, he looked up to Dumbledore.

"What – What do you mean?" he asked slowly.

"You know why and how she died," Dumbledore said calmly. "Make sure it was not in vain. Help me protect Lily's son."

"He does not need protection," Snape said, feeling frustrated now. "The Dark Lord has gone –"

"- the Dark Lord will return and Harry Potter will be in terrible danger when he does." Dumbledore told Snape sternly.

Snape remained silent for a very long time before eventually he gave Dumbledore a curt nod. "Very well… very well, but never – _never_ tell, Dumbledore. This must be between us! Swear it! I cannot bear… especially Potter's son… I want your word!" Snape said furiously, looking up to Dumbledore.

"My word, Severus, that I shall not reveal the best of your?" sighed Dumbledore, looking down to Snape's determined, if distraught, face. "If you insist…"

Another long silence followed. Snape looked away from Dumbledore, letting all the pain, fear and heartbreak associated with losing Lily, with seeing her cold, lifeless body.

He had gone to the house and he had rushed in through the hole in the wall in the lounge room. He had seen James Potter lying amongst the rubble, his pale eyes open and staring, large bits of the house having fallen on top of him. Snape had rushed to the staircase, jumping up three at a time and running to the end of the hallway, the side of the house to his left not there anymore. He turned into the last room and fell back into the wall, crying out as if someone had just stabbed him in the heart.

Lily had been on the ground in front of the boy's cot, her beautiful green eyes wide and staring just as her husband's had been downstairs. He had managed to crawl over to her and pull her cold, limp body into his arms, sobbing and he just held her, rocking back and forth with her son crying behind him… she was gone… Devastation flooded every inch of his body and his heart had felt as though it had stopped beating the moment he had seen her, for it was all his doing… all his fault… Surely he couldn't live in a world that Lily was not in; surely he would die in that very moment so he could be with her again…

"You went there, didn't you?" Dumbledore whispered and Snape refused to answer him, not that he could, he had suddenly lost his voice. "You found her beside Harry, meaning you probably stepped right over James." He said coldly.

"Stop –"Snape choked.

"You saw them all," he continued, ignoring Snape's plea. "All of the Potters bar one."

"There is no one else!" Snape cried.

"Have you not heard the rumours, Severus?" Dumbledore asked sadly. "Or did you just think that James could never give his life to protect someone else unless there was some prank involved because he was too selfish to do such a selfless act?"

"Please," Snape pleaded, not knowing how much more he could take.

"Aside from giving Lily the chance to flee with Harry, he saved another's life in that house."

"She was just a rumour, she never actually existed!" Snape said loudly, looking back to Dumbledore angrily.

"The over turned arm chair beside James' body hid Lily's daughter, you would have walked right past her, waiting in the cold and the dark to be found by someone…"

Guilt, tremendous guilt seemed to flood Snape's body and he wasn't overly sure why. He hadn't known about her, and he didn't think Voldemort had either and he was certain, giving the fact that she was Harry Potter's twin that she would look nothing like Lily; the boy hadn't…

"You would be surprised, Severus, by how different they are to one another," Dumbledore said as if able to read his mind. "And I think time will be the one to prove that…"

Snape doubted very much that this un-named child would ever be like her mother now that that her mother was gone. Lily wasn't there to teach her how to see the best in people, to make someone the happiest they have ever been, the happiest they ever could be…

"We shall see…" Dumbledore whispered to himself, knowing – or rather – hoping that Harry and Jessica would be, in the end, okay…


	2. CH2: Meeting Dumbledore

**_Author's Note: So here it is, the 2nd chapter. Sorry it has taken me so long. Life always seems to get in the way :P Anyways, it is a very long long chapter (4535 words!) and it is sort of like an info dump! Lol, please give me honest feedback, because you guys determine if I continue on with this or not. Enjoy and please review!_**

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><p><em>Chapter Two: Meeting Albus Dumbledore<em>

"Jessica?"

A moment's pause.

"Jessica?"

Another.

"Jessica, are you even paying attention?" Said Susan Wood impatiently, looking down to her adoptive daughter with mild frustration.

"What?" Jessica said as she turned from the window beside to look up innocently to Susan.

"Its _pardon_ and I asked you a question." Susan said slowly, thinking that she knew what was occupying her mind. "He isn't here yet, you know, we still have twenty minutes." She added.

"I know, mum." Jessica answered, nodding. "Dad is just seeing that man who came to see him off. Who is he anyway?"

Susan moved forward to look out of the window of the study. Outside in the freakishly warm Scottish sun that lit every inch of her wonderful garden, was her husband of twelve years stood beside a wizard in slightly faded green robes. The wizard was her age, as he had been in the same year as her at Hogwarts, yet he seemed to look much older than her. His light brown hair had small specs of grey and he had scars across his face and neck, but he had always had those, for as long as she could remember.

"She is so much like Lily," the wizard was saying quietly to Susan's husband, a fondness in his voice that she could easily hear.

Susan saw her husband nod. "Sometimes she is more like James." He said smiling as if recalling all the mischief that James Potter had gotten into while at school. "You take your eyes off her for a minute and she's either in the kitchen levitating the secret stash of double choc-chip brownies down off the top shelf or she's wandered into the woods exploring for magical creatures! She can't help it, of course, Jessica is just naturally curious, but it sure does give us a scare sometimes. I am secretly dreading her going to Hogwarts, you know, because I am sure she will get in trouble for wandering into the Forbidden Forest!"

The other wizard chuckled fondly. "She got the best of both of them then; Lily's brains and James' never failing courage!" he said. "She will definitely turn out alright."

"I have no doubts at all, Remus." Her husband said confidently.

Susan gave a small smile and looked back to her daughter. "He is an old friend of your father's."

"He was nice," Jessica declared.

"Jess, you think everyone is nice." Susan laughed, winking to the young boy beside Jessica, who grinned up to her.

"I do not." Jessica frowned as Susan and the boy, who had remained silent up until that point, continued to laugh. "I didn't think that Draco's _other_ friends were very nice."

"True," Susan admitted slowly. "I guess that was why you pushed one of them over.

Jessica folded her arms in front of her, pouting ever-so-slightly. "I didn't push him over; he must have tripped on a stick, or something. He did deserve it though, he was teasing Neville."

The boy beside her suddenly went bright red and looked away.

"Aww, don't worry Neville," Jessica said, hugging the brown-haired, chubby boy beside warmly, making him smile. "I will always be there for you!"

"Thanks," he said quietly, obviously embarrassed a bit, yet he still looked pleased with what Jessica had just said.

"Okay, can we get back to the lesson now?" Susan asked with her eyebrows raised as the two seven-year-olds looked back up to her. "Now, as I was saying before we got _slightly_ side-tracked, I have decided to give you your first piece of real homework."

"Homework?" repeated Jessica. "But all the work we do is homework. Well, all the work I do is anyway…"

Susan rolled her eyes and chose to ignore the comment. "Since Oliver will be at Hogwarts in a few weeks, I thought you might like to have a go at what he will be doing."

"Like casting spells?" asked Jessica asked eagerly.

"And making things fly?" added Neville excitedly.

"No, no," Susan said, sounding amused. "I am going to get you both to research and then write about your favourite magical creature –"

Jessica's hand shot right into the air.

"Yes Jessica?" said Susan sighing slightly, knowing all too well what was going to come out of her mouth.

"Can I please, please, please do the phoenix?" she whispered, her voice shaking with pure excitement as Susan exchanged a quick smile with Neville.

"Do you have to?"

Jessica nodded fiercely, giving Susan a look that could kill.

"Alright, alright!" said Susan, raising her hands in defeat and laughing. "Neville, what would you like to research?"

Neville seemed to consider this for a few moments. "The Clabbert please, Mrs Wood."

"Good pick, Neville, I look forward to reading what you find out." She said kindly, earning a small, shy grin from him.

"Have we finished for today now, mum?" Jessica asked somewhat impatiently.

"Yes, I suppose so, Jessica." Susan said slowly.

Jessica instantly stood up and ran out the doorway, yelling "come on, Neville" as she went. As Neville followed somewhat reluctantly into the hall (Susan knowing that he and Jessica's other best friend didn't get along overly well, but Neville would never miss out on spending time with Jessica, so he went along anyway), Susan's husband walked into the study.

"Where are they going in such a rush?" Theodore asked, looking to his wife.

"To meet Draco Malfoy." smiled Susan.

"Of course!" he smiled, sinking into the comfy reading chair by the unusually empty fireplace.

"How was Remus?" Susan asked casually.

Theodore sighed heavily. "He seems alright, Sue, but I think he still really misses them, especially after seeing Jessica."

Susan nodded. "She does take after Lily." She admitted quietly, thinking of all the times she had had with Lily Evans at school. Like the James, Lily, Remus and Theodore, Susan had been sorted into Gryffindor, therefore spent a lot of time with Lily. They had shared a dormitory together, and became very good friends.

"You heard our conversation outside," Theodore gathered, looking up to her sadly.

Susan nodded. "She's growing up so fast, Theo, and we'll lose her soon, I can feel it…"

Theodore shook his head, his expression resolute. "Dumbledore will never force her to leave, nor would he allow anyone to take her from us."

"But he will have to tell her soon surely?" Susan whispered, secretly terrified of that day ever coming, scared of how Jessica would react to finding out that her and Theodore weren't her real parents and scared that she wouldn't want to stay with them.

"I really don't know when he is going to tell her," Theodore admitted knowing his wife's fears very well, for they had spoken in great length about all the possibilities and if he was completely honest with himself, he shared the fears too. They had raised Jessica as their own and he felt as though she was _his_ little girl. To him it didn't matter that she wasn't his own flesh and blood, but he was a mature adult that family weren't always those who you were related to, yet he understood that a seven year-old mightn't understand that.

"He'll be here on Tuesday," he continued eventually. "Dumbledore, that is. He's coming to discuss something that Fudge is trying to impose on Rufus and the rest of us Aurors."

"What's the minister doing now?" Susan asked, sensing her husband's sudden frustration.

Theodore sighed. "Who knows? He's probably trying to increase the amount of paperwork we have to do for each case we work on – like we don't have enough already!"

"Just think, Theo, you don't have as much paperwork to do as poor Rufus does."

"One of the many reasons why I didn't want the job as Head Auror when Mad-Eye left," Theodore said smiling. "The time it takes us to fill out all the extra, pointless pieces of parchment is time that we could be using to catch the bad guys!"

"I know, my love, I know." Susan smiled fondly, patting Theodore's head.

Theodore smiled up at his wife, taking her hand in his and kissed it gently. "I know you do, because I always make you listen to me complaining!"

"It's what I am here for," Susan said sweetly, leaning down to kiss her husband gently, her hands on his face, before loud, somewhat hysterical laughter from outside filtered through the window. The both broke apart, exchanging suspicious glances before moving to the back window that overlooked the back garden and the field that had been designated the Quidditch pitch.

Draco Malfoy, an average height, blond-haired boy, and Neville Longbottom stood on the ground in the middle of the Quidditch field laughing loudly as they watched Jessica fishing around in the thick bushes behind the three wooden goal hoops closest to the house with a wide, cheeky grin on her face.

"Where is Oliver?" Susan asked suddenly before Theodore, thinking the worst as any parent would, ran from the study, into the hallway and out the back door into the bright Scottish sunlight.

"Oliver?" he asked, rushing past Neville and Draco as Susan came to a stop beside them, looking at the bushes beside Jessica, who was still doing her best not to laugh.

"I'm alright," he heard his son answer gruffly before emerging up from the bushes, his face downcast and bright red.

"What happened?" Susan asked.

"Oh my gosh, you should have seen it, dad!" Jessica gushed and Theodore looked down to her briefly.

"Oliver, are you okay?" he pressed, grabbing Oliver under his arms to lift him up out of the bushes.

"I'm fine," Oliver said and the three of them could still hear Draco sniggering.

Jessica shot Draco a quick glare that made him stop before looking back to Theodore. "You just missed Oliver's greatest save!"

"Greatest save?" repeated Theodore as he gave his son a quick check over.

"You should have seen it!" she nodded proudly.

"It really wasn't _that_ great, Jess." Oliver said darkly, his cheeks deepening in colour.

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Oliver was up the other end of the pitch, dad and he threw the Quaffle as hard as he could up this end towards the centre hoop, then he sped as fast as his broom could go up to the centre hoop and caught the Quaffle spectacularly!"

"Well done Oliver," Theodore said warmly, knowing just how much a save like that would have meant to his son. "Only, how did you end up in the bushes?"

"Well," Jessica started, struggling to keep a straight face as both Neville and Draco began giggling. "That was the – uh – funny part, dad."

"Oh," Theodore pressed as Oliver suddenly became very interested in a small bug that was crawling up his own shoulder. "Oliver?"

Oliver sighed, looking up to his father. "I didn't actually expect to catch the Quaffle, did I, so I sort of lost my balance and fell off my broom. Through the hoop…"

Jessica and Draco burst out laughing, their infectious laughter making Theodore smile slightly.

"And you're okay?" Theodore asked his son. "You're not hurt, nothing's damaged?"

"No, I'm okay." Oliver answered moodily, beginning to head towards the house. "You know, except for the fact that I am never going to get on the Gryffindor house team."

"You haven't even got to Hogwarts yet, Oliver; try not to get your hopes up to high." Theodore told him gently. "And besides, there are more important things at Hogwarts than Quidditch, you know."

Oliver stopped walking and looked around to him. "There is _nothing_ more important at Hogwarts than Quidditch!" he said melodramatically before stalking past his mother and into the house.

Theodore sighed and looked down to Jessica beside him. "Merlin help whoever is the Quidditch Captain for whatever house he ends up in this year." He said making her giggle again. "Go on, go and keep playing, Neville's grandmother will be here soon to pick him up."

Jessica nodded and moved towards the two boys. "Let's play that Muggle game; the one that mum taught us, Neville."

"Muggle game?" repeated Draco, scrunching his face up in disgust.

"Come on Draco, it's fun isn't it Neville?" Jessica said encouragingly. "It's called 'Hide and Seek' and what happens is one person closes their eyes and counts to fifty, while the other people go and hide. The person who counts has to then find the others and the first person who is found then has to count next time."

"I bet you won't find me!" Draco grinned, challenging Jessica.

"I bet I'll find you first!" Jessica said, accepting his challenge. "Oliver, come and play!"

Oliver stuck his head out of the back door, broomstick still in hand. "Are we playing Quidditch?" he asked eagerly.

"No," Jessica answered, shaking her head. "We're playing Hide and Seek."

"Hide and Seek?" repeated Oliver. "I know the best spot for that!" he said, running out to join them.

Theodore watched while the three boys quickly ran in all directions and Jessica leant on the side of the house smiling before he began to walk towards his wife. He thought that Draco's father Lucius would be mortified at the thought of his son playing a Muggle children's game. He didn't mind Lucius Malfoy personally, even though of his dark and somewhat shady past. Theodore believed in second chances and he believed that the Malfoy's deserved it too, even though most of the Wizarding world (and pretty much all of his work mates) still believed that they had been in You-Know-Who's inner-most circle.

He admitted that the Malfoy's liked to delve into the dark and mysterious items, the more expensive the better, but he wasn't going to condemn them for that. He knew from experience that having a child changes who you are and how you act, and from what he had seen, they really seemed to look after and care for Draco and when Jessica was over with them they seemed to spoil her too. As long as they never endangered his daughter's life in anyway, he didn't mind what they did to a certain degree, and he thought that if Draco stayed as close to Jessica as he was now, he had quite the chance of growing up to be a nice and respectable wizard.

^o^

Jessica sat on a large, tartan quilt in the front garden a few days later, surrounded by thick, leather-bound books that contained so many rich details about all the magical creatures ever known to wizard-kind. Some of them she couldn't even read because they were written in ancient runes, but she enjoyed looking at the pictures.

Looking up from her already tattered copy of _Fantastic Beasts and where to Find Them_, she saw over in the next field was her brother Oliver with his broomstick, searching through the thick, tall grass with a deep frown on his face as he obviously looked for the red Quaffle. Giggling quietly to herself, she looked back down to her book.

_The Phoenix is a magnificent, swan-sized, scarlet bird with a long golden tail, beak and talons._

She picked up her quill, dipped it into the ink and began to write Newt Scamander's perfect description down, thinking that the whole _homework_ thing was easier than she had originally thought. Moments later, the front gate behind her clicked open and she turned around.

An old man, who was undoubtedly a wizard (the Muggles that lived in the closest village to her house would never wear the clothes that this man was wearing) stood behind her smiling kindly down to her. He had a magnificent silver beard that fell down to his stomach, covering his deep, red wizards' robes and his blue eyes sparkled from behind his golden, half-moon spectacles.

"Hello," he said warmly.

"Hello," Jessica answered as she stood up and watched the man with wide, intelligent eyes. "Who are you?"

"I am Albus Perciful Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," he told her, bowing slightly as he held out his hand. "And who might you be?"

"Jessica Lily Wood," she answered, shaking his hand and cringing slightly; she didn't think that his name was nearly as good as his was. "You're the Headmaster of Hogwarts aren't you?" she asked him eagerly.

Dumbledore smiled. "I am indeed, yes."

"Oliver, my older brother, starts Hogwarts in a few weeks." She told him excitedly. "He's really excited! He really wants to be in the house Quidditch team, even though there hasn't been a first year on any of the teams in nearly a century now. But that probably won't stop him from trying!" she grinned.

"There is never any harm in trying." Dumbledore chuckled. "I see that I have interrupted something important."

Jessica glanced to her homework behind her. "Mum has set me and one of my best friend's real homework!" she told him happily. "We have to research our favourite magical creature!"

"What did you choose?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"I chose to do phoenixes." She said quickly. "And Neville, my best friend, he chose to do Clabberts, which is like a cross between a frog and a monkey." She bent down and picked up her parchment. "I've only just started, see?"

Dumbledore took the parchment from her and peered at it as he read the single line of writing. "This is a good start," he said, his eyes twinkling. "Although, I would like to read _your_ words, not Newt Scamander's,"

Jessica blushed, looking down from him. "I know, but this is only a draft, but he does describe it how I would have," she paused, picking up one of the thick books and held it up for Dumbledore to look at. "See, the phoenix has a long golden tail, a golden beak and talons, they are scarlet, they are as big as a swan and they are simply magnificent!" she said, the admiration in her voice quite evident to Dumbledore.

"I know, I should like to read a copy of your report once you have finished, if you wouldn't mind." he said, winking at her and making her smile again.

"Have you ever seen a real one, sir?"

"I have," he told her as she sat down on her quilt again.

"Whoa!" she gushed. "Where did you see him?"

"The last time I saw him, well, he was in my study." Dumbledore said with a light grin as she gaped up at him unbelievingly. "I should explain that I am lucky enough to own – although, it is more of a partnership that I am privileged enough to share with a phoenix." He said, sitting down beside her on the quilt, her face lighting up with glee and admiration.

"A real phoenix?" she whispered.

"A real phoenix," he confirmed with a warm, affectionate smile.

"That is the best thing anyone has ever told me!" she said sounding exhilarated. "What is his name? Does he even have a name? Does he really burst into flames when it's time for him to be reborn? And can his tears heal people?"

Dumbledore chuckled at the eagerness of all her questions. "Yes, he can do those things, plus so much more and his name is Fawkes."

"Fawkes," Jessica echoed quietly. "Where does he live?"

"He lives with me in my study at Hogwarts," he told her.

Jessica suddenly gave a heavy sigh. "I can't wait to go to Hogwarts, but that won't be for another four years… I wish I could go with Oliver now."

"Good things happen to those who wait," Dumbledore smiled.

"You sound like dad," Jessica said gloomily.

"Ah, well, he must be a very wise man then!" he said lightly, making her giggle.

"Is there really a giant octopus in the lake?" Jessica asked quietly. "Only, Draco, my other best friend, said that there was."

"I have seen the Giant Squid on several occasions," Dumbledore told her cheerfully, well aware of the amazed grin that formed on her face. "And he is quite friendly most of the time."

"And the Forbidden Forest?" she pressed, hungry for more information. "Are there monsters in there?"

"I wouldn't say that _monsters_ reside in there," he answered diplomatically. "I would say, however, that there is a rather large collection of various beasts; some friendly and harmless, such as Clabberts, while some are not so friendly and can be a bit more _challenging_ to handle."

"Well, I'm not going to go in there," Jessica declared, giving a slight shiver. "It sounds really scary and I bet there are snakes in there…"

"Oh, we shall see," Dumbledore smiled, knowing that if she was anything like her biological father she would be in the forest within her first year at Hogwarts. "Tell me, what are you looking forward to most at Hogwarts?"

Jessica frowned, obviously thinking very hard about the question. "The lessons, I think, especially potions. I always help mum and dad with brewing them. I am also looking forward to watching Quidditch and maybe playing for the team one day too. I also really want to explore the castle; my friends and I can't wait to do that, though, maybe not together because they don't really like each other very much."

"Don't they?" Dumbledore enquired.

Jessica shook her head sadly, showing emotions that Dumbledore was not expecting from a seven year-old. "I don't understand why really, and even Neville's grandmother doesn't like Draco's family, I heard her telling my mum, the other day. She said she didn't know how my dad could trust them after everything that they had done. I don't know what she meant but I trust them too, I just wish that Draco wouldn't make fun of Neville sometimes. He doesn't do it all the time, because I think he knows that it makes me upset."

"I wonder if young Mr Malfoy is perhaps jealous of your relationship with young Mr Longbottom." Dumbledore suggested, feeling as though he had seen all this before in the generation above.

Jessica looked at him for a few moments, thinking about it very hard. "I am sure that Draco knows that he is my best friend too… Should I tell him though?"

"I don't think that it would hurt the situation," he said, watching her closely.

"You are probably right," she admitted. "Thank you sir,"

Dumbledore smiled. "I am glad to be of assistance."

They smiled at each other for a few moments before someone yelled out from somewhere inside the house.

"Jess?" a man called.

Jessica looked around. "Yeah dad?" she called back.

"Have you seen a man walking down our lane? It's just, I'm expecting someone rather important and he's not normally one to be late – oh!" Theodore said, stopping abruptly as he came around the corner of the house, his eyes falling on Dumbledore and Jessica on the quilt.

Dumbledore smiled up to Theodore warmly, his eyes twinkling. "I feel I should apologise Theodore, but I must admit that my concentration slipped once I came across your daughter." He said light-heartedly, yet with some guilt.

Theodore gave a small chuckle. "I should have known!"

"Although," Dumbledore added, standing up and facing Theodore. "I did rather forget that I was expected elsewhere."

Theodore grinned and looked down to Jessica, who was now getting to her feet as well. "Only you Jessica, could make the greatest wizard known to all wizard-kind forget that he had an important appointment to keep!" he told her fondly, both he and Dumbledore chuckling as Jessica blushed. "Come on inside Albus; we should start work or Fudge will have a fit! Oh, and Jessica, I have been watching your brother struggling to practice Quidditch all morning, do you think you could go and give him a hand?"

"Okay," Jessica agreed, bending down to tidy all her parchment and books.

"Tell him that when Draco comes around this afternoon that we will all play a game, okay?"

Jessica grinned up to him, nodding enthusiastically before looking to Dumbledore. "Goodbye Professor Dumbledore, sir."

"Goodbye Jessica," Dumbledore smiled warmly, his eyes still twinkling. "It was a pleasure meeting you."

"You too, sir." She grinned before walking off around the side of the house.

"She is very charming," Dumbledore said lightly, seeing Theodore grin sheepishly, "Although, I am rather surprised that an Auror's daughter is so trusting of strangers."

"I know," Theodore said shaking his head. "The last time that I took her into the ministry with me she was stopping to chat with everyone. Mad-Eye nearly had a heart attack, he game me such a long lecture about constant vigilance – you know what he is like, it was a nightmare, it really was."

Dumbledore smiled and followed Theodore into the house, thinking that Jessica was turning out far better than he'd hoped, he just wondered if her brother would turn out as well…

Once in the book-filled study, Theodore looked to Dumbledore uncomfortably.

"So, where do we start?" he asked.

"We can start with me answering whatever it is that is making you look so uncomfortable, Theodore." Dumbledore said kindly, looking at him from over his glasses.

Theodore sighed. He had always thought, for as long as he could remember, that Dumbledore could read people's minds. "Sue and I were talking the other day."

Dumbledore waited patiently, raising his eyebrows.

Theodore glanced out the window closest to him, worried that young ears may be eavesdropping. "Remus Lupin was here three days ago, checking up on Jessica. He still doesn't seem to have fully gotten over what happened yet."

"I don't think someone as caring as Remus _can_ fully recover from something like that." Dumbledore said sadly, "Especially after Sirius Black was imprisoned."

"Well, no one can blame him for that, can they?" Theodore said darkly. "I couldn't believe that Black had been involved with the Potter's deaths, let alone with blowing up thirteen people on a busy Muggle street! It was one of the worst days of my job, after the mess at Godric's Hollow of course. I still get the feeling that we're missing something, but Fudge reckons it's because most of us knew him."

"Yes, I have the same feeling Theodore, you and Alastor are not alone there." Dumbledore said quietly.

Theodore nodded, getting the feeling that the topic had occupied the great wizard's mind for some time. "Anyway, the visit from Remus Lupin made Sue and I wonder when you were going to tell Jessica who she really is."

"Ah," Dumbledore said slowly.

That question had been nagging at him for a long time now and the answer wasn't particularly clear to him. He knew that the day was fast approaching for her to be told the truth about who she was and what had truly happened, but as the sound of young laughter filtered through the open windows, he knew that now was not the right time, and that he couldn't bring himself to do it quite just yet. _Not yet, just let her enjoy her peaceful childhood while she still can_, he thought painfully to himself.

"Not yet Theodore," he said sadly, wondering if he would ever think that she was ready to hear such truths…

~ 11 ~


End file.
